guys, i had said this

i had said that ind will crush bd by an innings within 2-3 days.

now, ind, couldnt beat bd within 2 days, but still beating within 3 days is possible and it will happen.

bd were 184 all out with pathan taking 5/45 and ind have taken a huge lead.

[Flip Master Mick]

amit... i have been witness to your rambling for a while now... put it to rest, would you? beating us in 3 days won't be possible by a mediocre team like india... i am sorry to say... but dude... get real... india is only great in the mind of the fans and the vast english language sports writers of indian descent... cricket and bollywood is like religion to you guys, man... they are the essence of your soul... hence, your cricketing prowess will always be perceived under a vapor of fantasy...

Edited on, December 11, 2004, 2:14 PM GMT, by Flip Master Mick.

[ZunaidH]

Originally posted by amit(a huge BD fan)
i had said that ind will crush bd by an innings within 2-3 days.

now, ind, couldnt beat bd within 2 days, but still beating within 3 days is possible and it will happen.

Tomorrow, BD will turn around and make India suffer. Watch. The game isn't over yet.

FMM - india is not a mediocre team. ind is the no.1 team in test cricket.

ghor_jamai - i know match isnt over. anything can happen in the last 3 days.

[Ganesh]

Originally posted by Flip Master Mick
amit... i have been witness to your rambling for a while now... put it to rest, would you? beating us in 3 days won't be possible by a mediocre team like india
Edited on, December 11, 2004, 2:14 PM GMT, by Flip Master Mick.

While I don't want to get into a discussion about Amit's intentions, I should say a loss under 3 days is a distinct possibility if not a certainty. This game may yet go beyond 3rd day partly due to the fact that some 30 overs were lost on day 1. All the same Bangladesh have played quite poorly so far.

India is not really a mediocre side either. That may have been true till 2002 or so. Since then India has done pretty well. Now its ranked #3 by ICC. If India beats Bangladesh 2-0, it will be #2 behind Aussies. As I see it, Aussies are way ahead of the rest. Then India, RSA, Pak, England, SL are all neck and neck. Newzealand is a bit behind. WI is some way behind too. Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have a long way to go. I really don't know how you guys even follow your team match after match. It is worse than following Indian hockey currently. I stopped following our hockey team as I could not take it any longer.

This is not to endorse Amit's position. Just plain and simple truth on where Bangladesh stands. What puts me off with regards to Bangladesh cricket is their poor fielding. Batsmen and bowlers need a lot of talent and focus. If you are not there mentally at a time, even if you are talented, you won't score. But fielding is about attitude. It is alright if you relax it for odd performers(mainly bowlers). But you need at least minimum 3 brilliant fielders. How many Bangladeshi players are as good athletes like Yuvraj or Kaif? In test cricket you need someone like Dravid to be at slips or close in. Those who put down sitters routinely should be kicked on their backside. Good fielders always make the difference for the bowlers, running between wickets and overall in fighting spirit. These are the guys who would not lose the game till the last ball and would make the most when there is a chance. Asians (barring probably SL) as a whole don't play tight cricket.

I am sorry if I am sounding a bit harsh in my criticism. Hiring foreign coaches and paying him hefty sum in US dollars won't cut much if you are going to get your basics wrong. Batsmen and bowlers can't be coached at this level. Coaches at this level are for strategies(like field placement, line to bowl to a batsman or batting order) and not for fixing basic issues. A particular strategy works for a year or so. After that everyone adopts it or find ways to defeat it. But, if bowlers and batsmen don't have disciple to execute the strategy, then things will fall flat. And then they have come up with something new. Most teams didn't have this concept of coaches till mid 90s. At least they were not visible. Who coached Clive Lloyd or Allan Border or Ian Chappell or Imran Khan and their teams? It was only after Whatmore became the coach of SL and Woolmer became the coach for SA that we saw the importance of a coach. In both cases, they never had to take care of basic things like running between wickets or fielding or even batting and bowling.

Succinctly, Banglas need to play tight cricket. Go stop those singles and twos. Run hard between wickets. Fire the players at the first class level who don't field well. Go play the game hard. And don't give a single run or miss an easy chance. Bangladesh can do as well as Sri Lanka of 80s or can do as badly India of 1950s(right at the moment they are even worse than India of 50s). It is up to them really. Flames shall be ignored.

[Rubu]

if one of the two unfortunate catch drop of sachin would not happen, india would have been all out by now below 250. u got lucky. i don't think its a good idea to brag about luck. any, tomorrow is a whole new day and lets see what happen. your prediction already went from two to three days. now, i'm waiting for it to go from 3 to four and four to five

btw, where is that person who wanted to see how shewag went after rafique?
interesting some other member actually suggested that he will not go past mashafee and taposh. did not actually think it will be so true.

[Ganesh]

As far as dropped cacthes go, there is little point saying other team got lukcy, when you have made it a habit to put down catches(Same holds for Indian cricket too). Ifs and buts don't help. I don't see this game go beyond 270 overs(which is equivallent to 3 days, remember lot of time was lost on day 1). We will get a clear picture of where things are headed tomorrow. I don't see BD playing out even 150 overs 2 innings put together. As it stands Bangladesh is in for an innings defeat or some thing like 8-10 wickets defeat. Not that it makes India better. But this game now is heavily loaded towards India. That is the ground reality. Better luck for next game:-).